Frequently Asked Questions

I received anti virus software (MacAfee, Norton) on my computer when I bought it am I still protected?

• NO! - Unless you have been updating the virus definitions every day. New viruses are released to the Internet everyday. Current Months Virus Calendar. http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/calendar/

What is a Trojan Horse, Virus, Worm?

• Trojan Horse

  A program that neither replicates or copies itself, but does damage or compromises the security of the computer. Typically it relies on someone emailing it to you, it does not email itself, it may arrive in the form of a joke program or software of some sort.

• Virus

  A program or code that replicates, that is infects another program, boot sector, partition sector or document that supports macros by inserting itself or attaching itself to that medium. Most viruses just replicate, a lot also do damage.

• Worm

  A program that makes copies of itself, for example from one disk drive to another, or by copying itself using email or some other transport mechanism. It may do damage and compromise the security of the computer. It may arrive in the form of a joke program or software of some sort. (for those who want to know more go to Norton's site for a VERY detailed explanation) http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/1999041209131106

How do I know if I have a virus, Trojan or worm?

• Virus

  In some cases you will know immediately. You may have a mm virus which is a mass mailing virus. You catch it and it e mails itself to addresses in your address book. Your friends that have current virus definitions loaded will intercept the virus before it infects their machine and let you know. In some cases your computer will crash altogether.

• Trojan Horse

  Most people that have been infected with a Trojan don't know it. If you have a Zone Alarm firewall.

• Worm

  Most never know it until it's too late.

What is SPYWARE?

• While advertising\sponsoring is a common way to publish and promote a product for free, some software advertising systems do more then just showing static banners, they make use of your internet connection to retrieve new banner ads from a third parties server and send various information about you. This information is collected and sold to third parties. In short words: The more they know about you, the higher is your value for them.) Because of the secret behavior of these systems, they are also called advertising Trojans. Most of these systems are installed with a (often popular) host application, which may or may not work without the snoopware components installed. Some attach themselves to your browser, some are completely invisible.
  
  Popular applications including parasites are, for example Go!Zilla, Bonzi Buddy, Audiogalaxy or BearShare.